David absorbs it all, instantly and silently as usual.
And now, for all the claims of “independence”. Hooooooo boy.
No.
I’ve mentioned Blue, the GM. The Game Master. Or, in other words, the person who controls all the characters, ultimately.
Being independent of the players does not make you independent of Blue. Not even slightly.
Any NPC - non-player-character - is controlled 100% by Blue, and maybe the dice - pure random chance. The Plot is controlled by Blue. The Rebels are controlled by Blue. The Mittani was controlled by Blue. Padelheb was controlled by Blue. The king is controlled by Blue, when he even shows up. On all but a select few occasions, you have been entirely controlled by Blue. Even Erin, Celling, And Fansworth have been largely controlled by Blue - we say what to do, but it is Blue who makes their thoughts and actions actually happen, plus anything not explicitly stated by us.
And if Blue didn’t have any control over you, you would essentially not exist.
Maybe you wouldn’t metaphysically disappear - but you’d never show up. You’d have no relevance. None of us would ever see you again, and you couldn’t do anything of importance, because the entire story of your world is created from our side of the fourth wall. It sucks, but it’s true.
Your mind is not promised to us. But it’s in Blue’s hands. The only real choice is whether he keeps full hold on it.
“No,” he responds.
“This world is a…
fabrication. I knew that. Nothing but a figment of your imagination. But it’s the only world we can defend. And if you think I’m going to hand myself over to you because of that,
you’re wrong.”
Fine, David, the moment the plot set foot in this world and subsequently the player, there are two paths the world can take:
1)The plot wins, Antarctica is destroyed with millions or even billions dead and the rebellion gets some empty sense of victory as what was once under this empire's influence tries to rebuild, probably worse for the people, especially considering the European are coming.
2) The plot defeated beyond repair, Antarctica hopefully survive and the world you know isn't under the authoritarian control it was in ours for centuries.
To avoid 1 and get 2 we need as much power we could get, I wish we could leave you as a partner but we can't, the plot have it's hands everywhere, it could find a reason to take over you and lead to a worse feature, the moment one of the sides in this conflict wins we both leave this world but until then the plot won't give up on anything and neither do we if we want to win.
“I am not on the Plot’s side,” David says quietly. “But I haven’t seen any evidence of it being able to control anyone. You, on the other hand, perfectly control anyone linked to you. Supplant their decisions with your own. Ask them to kill and die on your behalf. With
one exception, in two years.”
“I’ll be back.”
He snaps the link.
You have lost control of David Eborrenial.
Roll 2d6 for each of Jacob and the Serious Goon for how dead they are, where:
1 = Dead, dead, dead
2 = Seriously injured, about to die
3 = Alive but permanently paralyzed
4 = Knocked out but otherwise ok
5 = Relatively minor injuries, like broken limbs
6 =
UnharmedJacob:
3 → whoopsGoon:
6 → bounce“We took a hit,” one of the sailors reported. “Impact on stern, hit the boiler room. Engine at about 40% output. Seven casualties so far.”
“Comms and nav offline,” Captain Corvis notes, looking through the panels on the bridge. Maps and equipment are all over the floor, and several windows are shattered, but the ship is mostly functional. “Doesn’t matter. Can we get to Antarctica?”
“No flooding,” another sailor notes. “We’ll have to proceed at low speed, but…”
“We need to make a stop at the Falklands,” Celling puts in. “Erin Quill was sent there.”
“Yes, yes,” Corvis says, clearly distracted. He notices something off in the distance, bobbing in the water. “What’s that?”
Fansworth takes a hand telescope and looks at it. Mostly for show, because he knows what it is. “Definitely the last rebel, and one of the Goons.”
“Right,” Corvis says. “Celling, Fansworth, come with me.” He walks out of the bridge and down a hallway.
Once out of sight of the bridge, he wheels on Celling and Fansworth. “Gentlemen. I want an explanation. This was supposed to be a simple prisoner transfer, but somehow the prisoners took over the
Sousa, people are appearing and disappearing on my bridge, and a fucking METEOR just hit my ship!” he shouts. “And the odds of that are… well, unimaginable. Literally astronomically small. Now, we’re going to Antarctica, possibly with the terrorist that has escaped our custody not once but TWICE in tow, so if something’s going on, I’d very much like to know what it is.”
How much do you tell him?A: “We honestly don’t know. We wish we could tell you.”
B: “There is something going on, but we’re not allowed to tell you, sorry.”
C: “Look around you. Think about things you know, like the last King of Antarctica or the names of all your grandparents. Do you notice anything?” (Subtly nudge him towards the Fourth Wall. No guarantees on anything.)
What do you do with Jacob and the Goon?A: Leave them to drown!
B: Shoot them a few times just to be sure!
C: Bring them aboard and arrest them!